THANK YOU for all the quick responses! This is all great info. I've heard of le leche but never looked into it, I'll do that asap! I'm hoping this is one of those things that once you get the hang of it it gets easier.. I never would have thought to look in the library either, so thank you for that as well

I don't think that pumps are necessary but I do think they are very handy to keep your supply up and/or relieve fullness when you are unable to feed or simply have too much milk (common in early weeks and can be painful). I've used a manual pump (Avent) very succesfully with both my babies. The main times I have used expressed milk for my bubs were: when I was sleep deprived, so hubby would do a feed for me while I caught up on sleep (lovely bonding for them too), when I needed to be away from bub (haircut, work, party etc) or when I wanted to have a glass (or more) of wine. As I started the bubs on solids I also used the milk in their meals, rather than using cow's milk at an early age or bothering with formula just for cooking.

I keep a backup supply in the freezer. I just put it in ziplock bags and write the date & quantity on the bag. To defrost I either leave it in the fridge, or if I need it quickly I put the bag in a bowl of hot water and it defrosts in a couple of minutes (I lie them flat to freeze, which makes them thin & therefore quick to defrost).

You will find that your supply varies a lot throughout the day, so best to find when you have the most milk (probably morning) and try to pump then for easier & faster results. I have had friends who have been unable to get a satisfactory amount of milk from pumping at any time though.

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but I think you can hire electric pumps (probably from hospital). Also consider buying second hand or borrowing? Everything can be sterilised. Oh, & you will need a steriliser for the pump & bottles - I've used a microwave one, which is easy and compact.

Good luck! Breast feeding can be tricky to start but if you persevere and are succesful I think it is easier than formula & if you add in the option of bottles of expressed milk you get the best of both worlds. Oh, 1 last thing; if you plan to combine breast & bottle then introduce the bottle early (maybe 2 weeks old) so the baby gets used to switching between both otherwise they may decide that they only want one or the other.

It's really sad that you've already got people telling you to expect to fail. Use all of the advice everyone here has given you. It's all great advice. I had a pump, but got it after Bella was born b/c she ended up staying in the NICU. If you're going back to work, I think it will totally be worth it. There are lots of women who are successful at pumping and working.

I think though, your greatest asset will be the lactation consultant at the hospital or birthing center you'll be at. If you can talk to that person before hand, go for it! I would have fallen flat on my face without those ladies helping me. I didn't do LLL, but I think I would have been even more successful if I did. Good luck and prove all of those naysayers wrong!

Irmum- that's such a good idea to use your own milk to cook babys food with! Maybe that's common knowledge but I never even thought of that! I thought about finding a second hand pump just to save on money but everyone I've talked to said not to. That said you can't sterilize some of the inner parts so it could be harmful to baby? The hand pumps are a lot cheaper than electric so maybe I'll try that first and then move up to the electric?

Klcalder2- it has been disappointing to hear everyones negative comments. I've even had people (who know I want to exclusively breastfeed) buy me bottles and containers for formula storage. They said I'll need them when I finally realize breastfeeding isn't going to work so I might as well have them on hand! The bottles I can still use for my own milk and the containers will be handy for snacks when she's older so not a total loss but still, not what I was wanting to hear. I've gotten a ton of good advice here! I'm so glad I posted! I'm starting to feel way more excited now! And your so right, I can't wait to rub my positive results in these negative peoples faces LOL!! ps, Arabella is in my top 2 right now, and Ezra was set if it was a boy!! It was so cool to see both names in your post. Such beautiful names!!

I already commented, but you mentioned not using second-hand pumps because of sterilization problems. I've heard this too, but I've also heard that hospital rental pumps are made differently (higher quality?) so that milk can't back up into the pump contaminating it.
And like many people have said, if you have a lactation consultant at your hospital, they're really helpful. My son (first kid) would only nurse for a few minutes at a time and I was so worried I was doing something wrong. When he was 7 days old I went back to the hospital to talk to the consultant and she weighed him, watched him eat, and weighed him again. It turned out that he drank 2 ounces of milk in 2 minutes. He was just a really fast eater and there was nothing wrong with either of us! Lactation consultants are a really awesome source of help!